ArtsQuest, the non-profit entity that is building the 10-acre SteelStacks arts and entertainment complex on former Bethlehem Steel property in South Bethlehem, on Monday held a media day to show off its main performance space –Musikfest Café, in which it will offer national touring acts starting May 1.

For good measure, ArtsQuest had an actual performance in the café by Lehigh Valley acoustic favorites Steve Brosky and Jimmy Meyers – the venue’s first performance with an audience. It wasn’t exactly what you’ll see at a concert there, but it allows for some impressions.

The first impression is that it’s a more open performance space than I expected. With a high ceiling and the glass windows that look out on Bethlehem Steel’s rusting blast furnaces, there was almost a cavernous feel to it.

That could have been emphasized by the fact that it was light out. When the venue opens, headliner acts will be performing there after dark, so that may make the space feel more intimate.

In fact, the sound had almost an echo – not precisely, but as if it wasn’t quite filling the room. That also might have been due to the fact that Brosky and Meyers are a pretty intimate act; I’m sure national acts will “fill the stage” more, both literally and aesthetically.

“We’re kind of playing cocktail music,” Brosky said, jokingly. The duo played its standard set, such as Eric Clapton’s unplugged-style “Layla” and Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love.”

The sound in the balcony VIP section, where tickets are typically about $10 more expensive, was far better.

That may have been because it was removed from the crowd – there was 140 media members at the event, and I’m sure they were far more chatty that a crowd that paid $50 a seat would be. But I suspect it also was because the seats are closer to the ceiling and stop the sound.

Also, the sight lines in the VIP seats were excellent. You’re looking just slightly down on the performer from the front, and have a good view of the entire stage. With the exception of the front row against the stage, the VIP section’s front row of seats are the best in the house.

Ironically, a couple of seats farther back in the VIP section had slightly obstructed views because of the steel beams that rise from the balcony to the ceiling. But it probably can be avoided by shifting your seat.

The second level of seats in VIP were not much different – a slight bit more distance. But some of those are exceptional, as well. The seats without tables at the rail on the bar side of the VIP area also are very good. The bar seats, however, aren’t. Since you’ll be behind high-sitting people looking down, your sight-line will be badly blocked.

I was pleasantly surprised by the roominess of the “cabaret” configuration – seating for about 380 at tables on the floor. You’re easily able to turn your seats for a good view and walk between tables. The tables that face the sides of the stage, however – especially those to the very front of the room – feel detached because you’re actually behind the performers at the front of the stage.

There will be other audience configurations: rows of seats in a “theater” set up and all-standing.

Brosky seemed to like the Musikfest Café.

“Tell the world,” he said. “This is beautiful and fine thing. We’re excited to be part of it.”

ArtsQuest Vice President for Performing Arts Patrick Brogan said the café will offer “increasing opportunities for local talent to open for a national artist.”

The media day also included a performance of improv comedy in the center’s Blast Furnace Room. It’s a pretty intimate space and, with shades pulled to darken the room, felt more like a comedy club, with tables and a few rows of single seats.

The first true performance in the Musikfest Café will be an invitation-only performance for donors by 1970s rocker Steve Miller on April 30. The first public show will be by area blues guitarist Craig Thatcher and friends. Tickets are still available.

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.